Thankful
by RJEisenhuth
Summary: Good times on Moonbase Alpha, including the birth of a child, a potential new home, and an engagement, are thwarted when a deep space anomaly rears its ugly head. Yet, in spite of it all, the Alphans have a reason to be thankful.
1. Chapter 1

**THANKFUL**

* * *

 _Part One._

* * *

Their options were low.

Changes would have to be made.

They had a year before they ran out of habitable planets.

But there was a chance, a very small chance, that they might have finally found a home.

* * *

She awoke confused, blinking against the dim light about her, but the pain was a reminder of what had passed. The dangers of living in outer space were never long out of the minds of those on Moonbase Alpha. That fear was suddenly replaced with grief. Her hands splayed beside her underneath the cover immediately moved to her abdomen and, for a horrific anguish-filled moment, she thought she knew what had happened.

But then he was there, at her bedside, looking down at her – gently smiling.

"John?" she nearly wept.

"Thank God." He whispered, bending over by her bedside, touching her cheek. Carefully, he kissed her forehead, "I've never been so afraid …"

She pulled her hand from underneath the sheet and grasped his. "Is he … well?"

"He's perfect." John Koenig moved away slightly, allowing her to see the baby in its incubator. It was small, weighing in at just under eight pounds, but he was quite striking; a fair boy yet he had his father's dark hair. Later, Helena would note their child also had John's eyes. However, as time move forward, he would display her smile and temperament.

But now, she was merely delighted to see him move, a tiny hand lifting as if to say: "Hi Mom!". He was healthy and, in her mind, flawless.

"Do you remember what happened?" Koenig asked her and tensed a little as Helena looked up at him, appearing slightly confused, resting her head on the bed's firmly cushioned pillow. He gently squeezed her hand, "It doesn't matter if …"

"I was outside of Command Center, talking with Yasko … and there was pain." She searched her mind, "My abdomen felt like it was suddenly on fire. I told her to call Medical Center. I saw blood on my leg then … _nothing_."

Koenig took a breath and nodded. He had to tell her something but was not entirely certain how to approach it.

Months ago, when Helena told him she was going to have his child John was, at first, anxious. He did not tell her of his misgivings but knew, once the child restriction laws on Alpha had been lifted, Helena grew curious about their future. She wanted to know if her husband, the man she had wedded only months before, was interested in raising a family. It wasn't the first time the subject had been broached but it had never been so real, a true prospect, until that moment of reckoning. He remembered her none-verbal disappointment when he merely said, "Someday." without sincere commitment. John hadn't meant it to sound indifferent, as if he was dismissing the entire idea, but in truth while the notion of fatherhood sounded appealing, he genuinely feared what might happen to Helena if things should go wrong.

Perhaps he was being selfish, but John had already lost too many people he loved both on Earth and on Moonbase Alpha. If anything happened to her as a result of birthing his child he was not altogether certain he could handle the aftermath. Others might think Commander Koenig was strong enough to withstand the heartache, but few really knew what was in John's heart, the emotions he kept in check. No one, that is, but the woman laying in bed beside him.

And perhaps these uneasy feelings had been a premonition.

After the first six months, Helena's pregnancy was moving along well and John warmed to the idea. As her belly grew, as the Commander watched the woman he loved take her own measurements, preparing their quarters for a new baby - and having brought him the well-received news that she and the baby were healthy - Koenig was happy. But then Helena started to become abnormally exhausted. Dr. Vincent put her on bed-rest but it was hard to keep Helena still, especially when there was so much to do. She was not the only woman on Alpha who was expecting and the more doctors they had on hand the better.

When he got the call, the Commander was with Carter in their Eagle hanger. He and Alan's talk of a new fuel source, how to potentially give their Eagles a boost in the deep darkness of space they were approaching, suddenly became far less important than Maya's urgent report that Helena had been taken to Medical Center. At first Koenig thought it was an announcement that she had gone into labor. It was nearly her time after all. But when Maya told him she had collapsed – it was a nightmare come true.

He had allowed himself the greedy indulgence of believing they would grow old together, with or without children, and now he was being callously punished for such contented daydreams. Even if Helena lived, would the loss of their baby drive a wedge between them? So many ill thoughts raced through John Koenig's mind as he waited, his friends taking in his demeanor, and he was more than aware of his pathetic behavior, something his people were not used to. But perhaps this once it was allowed. He needed Helena alive, for Alpha, for their child, and most especially for _him._

Alan, Tony and Maya were by his side, often in shifts. They spoke gently to him, Maya being particularly encouraging, even though he could see they were just as worried as himself.

But then, hours later, Dr. Vincent came out of the operating theatre into the waiting room, pulling down his mask, and announced the child was alive and well – and Helena would recover.

The relief was like a physical blow to his body. The Commander could hear but barely acknowledge the joyful "Congratulations!" being shouted in his direction. Yet, there was more, something looming, and Koenig could see it on Vincent's conflicted face. He met the doctor's eyes and asked, "What is it?"

The jubilation ceased as the others also looked at Ben Vincent, catching onto the seriousness of the moment.

Koenig stood still, prepared for the worst.

"It is a rather private matter, Commander." Vincent hesitated, noting the on-lookers.

"Tell us." Koenig demanded. They had all been through so much together. He knew Helena would want whatever Dr. Vincent said to not be a secret from them.

"The hemorrhage was significant, and she is going to take a while to recuperate. We had to take steps to keep mother and child alive. I am afraid Helena will not be able to have another baby."

If Dr. Vincent or the others understood how this piece of information made him feel, thankful more than saddened, they might have thought him a miserable self-centered ogre. Koenig could only nod, hiding his relief. If he had ever believed in God, this was the time for it. Yet now, at her bedside, informing Helena of this development, he was uneasy and worried for her spirit. If she ever thought they might have another little one she was about to be sorely disappointed. All he could do was be there for her, loving her and the one new life they brought into the world together.

"Then little A.J. is our first and last." Helena said calmly, exhausted, her expression pensive but not altogether wretched. The baby's name came to them one night; a blending of their father's names. Aaron James Koenig. Again, she looked over at the bundle beside her bed, "I suppose it would have been difficult to improve upon perfection." She said, gently chuckling.

Unable to properly speak the words of love and heartfelt assuagement he felt, John merely took her hand in his and kissed it. He had a family, the love of his life and a handsome son. John tried to prevent the tears from rolling down his cheeks as she smiled up at him.

* * *

Two beautiful days passed. Helena and Aaron James had been moved to their quarters, a nurse or doctor a mere comlock call away should they need help, and John was a very proud father. He rocked A.J., feeding him with a bottle, and loved the little boy without question. Weak but content, Helena lay in bed, resting, and cherished watching them. She thought matters could only get better.

That was until John put the little one to sleep and told her they needed to talk.

At her bedside, he told Helena that the planet was a one-week Eagle flight away. It showed all the right signs. It could be their new home but without an immediate exploration they might lose it. They would only have eight hours to remove everything they needed from Alpha if it checked out, which would normally take them twenty-four hours to do. Any head start they managed could only be a plus. "In other words, if I am there to radio in, to tell our people it's time to get started even before the moon is in range, we will have more than enough time for an Exodus."

"But why do _you_ have to go?" Helena asked, disappointed, glancing at A.J. in his basinet. She needed him here, with her and their new baby. Perhaps it was merely fatigue, not to mention some lingering pain, making Helena apprehensive and needy, but she did not want John to leave her.

He lifted a hand and gently touched her cheek, "I need to be there to give the okay, Helena. You know that. I have to see it for myself, make certain we can live there, without the fear of an overly anxious recon party making all the wrong decisions." He knew it sounded as if he did not trust his crew but, the planet being one of their few last chances, Koenig had reason to be hands-on. "If it was for any other reason, they would not be able to pry me from your side, Helena, but this could be it. This might be our new start. A.J. will have a home, a world to grow up on."

His fingers moved from her cheek to rest on her shoulder. "Tell me you understand."

"I do." She said begrudgingly after a pause. Helena took an in-draw of breath and met his eyes with her own. "I do understand." Then she allowed a small self-indulgent smile, "I just wish I could go with you."

They chuckled together gently.

He and the reconnaissance crew, including Maya and Alan, left the following morning.

* * *

She was asleep when the first alarm, Yellow Alert, sounded.

Helena had taken medication a few hours before, something to make the pain lessen as well as help her sleep, after returning from seeing John and the others off. She should not have been out of bed but even Dr. Vincent saw the psychological need for the couple to say their goodbyes. A week was a vey long time to be without a mate, especially when she was now also taking care of a three day old baby.

Tony promised John he would watch over Helena and A. J. while he was away and the Commander, in turn, told Verdeschi he would make sure Maya would come to no harm. After all, he had to return the Psychon so he could be best man at their wedding.

"A marriage," Maya had said, "That will take place on a lush new world if everything works out!"

She nuzzled Tony's ear and Helena exchanged a smile with John, delighted their friends had finally taken the next step in their relationship.

As the travel tube doors slid open, as their equipment was being transferred inside, Helena put her arms around John and whispered quietly into his ear. It was an endearment meant for no one else but the man she loved. Helena sighed as his forehead touched her own.

"We'll be back before you know it." He murmured.

Helena suddenly felt something cold touch the back of her scalp. Later she would call it a forewarning.

When the second alarm sounded two minutes later, Red Alert, Helena sat up in bed and immediately looked over into A.J.'s bed. He was not there. She panicked but only for a moment, recalling the nurse taking the baby to Medical Center, to the nursery, so Helena could sleep quietly, without interruption.

"All personnel, please brace for potential impact!"

" _Wha …?"_ Helena heard Tony Verdeschi's voice over the compost and again that moment of absolute dread touched the back of her scalp. She quickly slipped on her robe and pushed feet into slippers, still a bit wobblily on her feet, and made her way to Command Center. When she got there, disheveled and confused, a flurry of activity met Helena's eyes and ears. She looked to the big screen, where only a few stars remained, and was horrified by what she did not see. "Tony, where is the Eagle?" she called, her voice weak but demanding.

He turned to glance at her as Sandra approached and took Helena's arm. She was escorted by their data analyst to an empty chair. Sandra and Tony's lack of explanation served to make Helena even more nervous.

"Tony? What has happened?"

"The Eagle has disappeared, Helena." Verdeschi finally said, not looking at her. His eyes appeared hard but red as he looked at their Big Screen, hiding a plethora of emotions he did not dare display. "It vanished into a warp. John, Alan … Maya." His voice cracked ever so slightly at the mention of her name, "The entire reconnaissance crew is gone." And for a moment, he thought they would follow. But it did not happen. The moon was on its normal trajectory. Tony touched a button, "Security, stand down."

Helena could feel a squeeze on her upper arm.

Sandra's expression was as miserable as her own. "I am so sorry." she whispered.

They searched for hours, days, and even weeks hoping for the impossible.

As the moon pulled out of range, as the planet they had been so eager to colonize disappeared from view, the Alphans knew there was nothing more they could do. The moonbase would limp on without its Commander, Science Officer, Chief Eagle pilot and the rest - but their loved-ones would never quite get over the loss.

* * *

"There it is, John!" Alan Carter caught the blip on his console, "It's Alpha! We found her."

Hours had passed and the controlled panic they all felt finally had reason to ease-up.

Steiner and Rossie, the two men rounding out their recon party, could be heard cheering in the back of the Eagle.

"Alan, if I ever had reason to call you anything other than the best pilot in the galaxy, I take it all back now." Koenig pressed a few buttons to get a visual of the moon. He wanted, more than anything, to speak with Helena. She was probably panic-stricken when they lost contact and for good reason. Still, that would have to wait. "Moonbase Alpha, this is Eagle Three. Please respond."

Alan chuckled as Maya came through the doorway and kneeled between the two men, "I can't take all of the credit." He said, "Maya darlin, I'm not certain we could have found the moon again without you."

"Thank you." She acknowledged his compliment, "But the Commander has been through this before. A year ago he and Tony had to find Alpha after the same kind of incident."

Yes, they remembered. It had been a frightening and potentially devastating event. He could only imagine what Helena and the rest were going through then - and once again. "We can't keep doing this kind of thing. One of these days we may never make it back." He quipped.

Maya sighed gently as they approached the moon, "I am going to have to develop a warp detection system."

"You can do that?" Alan asked, wondering if she was joking.

"Not overnight, of course, but it can be done." She replied. "We just have to …" Maya paused, looking about at the stars from the window before she and the men. Her lovely but unusual brows crinkled ever so slightly. Something was off. "Commander …" she started.

Koenig had caught it too. The configuration of the stars about them was incorrect.

Also, there was no planet. Where had it gone?

All they saw was the moon …

"We are in different space." Maya moved back to her science console and pressed in a few synchronized calculations. She came back to them nearly shaking, "Our on-board computer says we are nearly two hundred light years away from our previous position, Commander!"

"That cannot be possible. The warp must have done something to our instruments." Alan reasoned.

"Moonbase Alpha," Koenig called, firmer. "This is Commander Koenig in Eagle Three. Respond."

Hesitation. Then:

"Eagle Three?" came a familiar voice but no image had come up on the screen.

Maya pulled out her comlock, "Alpha, this is Maya. We are not receiving visual. Please correct to coordinate C-38."

The silence from the other end was nearly unbearable.

Then: "This is Moonbase Alpha but you can't be … It's impossible!"

"Tony, this is John Koenig! What is wrong with you down there? Acknowledge us!"

His image came up on the Eagle's screen. It was Tony Verdeschi, dashing as always, but he was different somehow. A small scar was near his right eye and he seemed tired – and older.

"Tony, our instruments are reading different space. Somehow Eagle Three and the moon have been tossed millions of light years from our last position. It must have something to do with the warp we came from but … What does Computer say is the reason?"

They could hear voices in the background, confusion and a little dread.

"I don't believe it." Someone said to Verdeschi off camera, "It checks out. That really is Eagle Three, Commander!"

It took Koenig a few seconds to realize that the operative was referring to Tony as her Commander.

"John," Tony looked down at the reading in his hands, "I don't know how to tell you … but _we_ are exactly where we are supposed to be. We have been traveling space for a very long time. You went through that warp and we lost all contact with you."

"Yes, we know that, Tony. But we managed to get through it. You had to have followed us."

"No, we did not." Verdeschi's voice was resolute, "We lost all contact with you. John, we thought you were dead and gone … but we continued to travel."

John, Alan, and Maya looked at one another, a horrible understanding dawning on their faces.

 _"That was ten years ago, John!"_

* * *

 **END OF PART ONE.**


	2. Part 2

**Part Two.**

* * *

Many things had happened to them since that day in September of nineteen ninety-nine when the moon broke free of Earth orbit, changing all their lives forever.

But nothing, John Koenig thought, had prepared him for this. While it was true in those early days that he had not once imagined himself as the Commander of a journeying moon, bouncing like an errant ping pong ball between galaxies, it did not quite compare to the realization that a man could genuinely fall in love, finding the perfect partner, while adventuring on that same moon in the deepest regions of outer space. Then, to take it further, Koenig positively - not in his wildest dreams - thought he would have a son, a baby boy to love and cherish. It was all too outlandish. But that was in the past, when he was still on Earth, and before their moon started its quest.

Presently, after having passed through a space warp, and miraculously making it back to the moon and his family ten years in the future – or present – he and the others were completely confounded. No, none of them had been mentally and emotionally equipped for this. _Ten years._ Although he kept an impassive face, it was completely beyond John Koenig's reach. As, it seemed, it was for Maya, Alan, Steiner and Rossi. Yet, they could not deny it had happened.

Thirty-two hours had passed in their lives while everyone else had lived and evolved for a decade without them.

They were nearly strangers to all of those they had loved, lost, and found again.

Many issues would need to be talked about, sensitive and professional topics settled, and despite what Verdeschi and the rest understood, the utter fantasticalness of the event, Moonbase Alpha had to be certain the Eagle crew really was what they claimed to be. Tony was restrained, regarding all of them as lost comrades but also potentially dangerous and undetermined beings. John did not blame him one bit for the caution. The Alphans had been betrayed before, while Koenig was in Command, on many occasions by what they thought were "friends". It could happen again ...

Only, it was them, they had returned, and all knew it to be true, despite the unlikelihood.

Now, they sat somewhat uncomfortably at a round table in a rarely used room, an office, inside Moonbase Alpha near Command Center. Koenig remembered the table from where it was once positioned in his workplace, near Main Mission. That seemed so long ago now, Main Mission having been closed-down for safety reasons many months into their space journey. Koenig's globe of Earth and a few vital pieces of computer technology was procured and used in other departments as well. But that was ten years ago. Where were they now, he wondered. The globe. His ink pen … his position.

Besides the recon party, all those who had been in Eagle three, the meeting was also attended by Verdeschi, Sandra, Alpha's Head of Science, Jared Tsu, and Helena. There were also a couple of security officers standing by the double doors. Koenig could not blame Tony for that either.

John wasn't sure what to do when he first saw her. He wanted to take Helena in his arms the minute he stepped from the travel tube. She was there, expression stunned, and wholly unattainable. Their eyes met, saying so much, but there was also a standoffishness, a worry, and something John could not quite grasp. A disconnection? Through no fault of their own, a couple who were still very much in love, could not comprehend their current situation. She was as in shock, quite naturally, as was he. But she was still his wife … _or was she?_

Ten years had passed but Helena had remained beautiful. Her hair had grown longer, lovely waves of blond passed her shoulders, and there was a pale blush to her cheeks. She seemed a bit too thin to him and her eyes, although still lovely, were now crinkled ever so slightly with the passage of time and, perhaps, loneliness and grief. An isolation he had caused simply by not being there, the sweet seduction of a potential home-world pushing him away from the woman he loved and their baby.

A baby who was now a ten-year-old boy. He had missed it; his flesh and blood growing into a child of what Sandra said was an "intelligent and popular Alphan youth". John wanted and needed to see him and talk informally with A.J. and Helena but they had to get this debriefing out of the way first.

Professor Tsu brought out charts, showing the path of the moon since they had lost the Eagle Three crew so many years ago. "It appears we have been traveling the same path." He said, "But in different spans or loops of time. It truly is quite remarkable." He pushed his findings in front of Maya on the table, rightly thinking she would be the best judge of the improbable. "We do not have a precedence for this wonder. Do you?"

"Yes." Maya answered promptly, low and honest. "I've only seen it once, when I was a little girl, before Psychon started its decline. Initially, it was mere theory but was made into reality when a hero of our planet, Jerom, came back to us after twenty years of space exploration looking as if he hadn't aged a day. He too traveled through a warp. Three days, he said, was his tour time."

Nearly apologetic, Maya looked up and gently licked her lips which had grown dry with apprehension. She miserably gazed at Tony across the table from her. He was sitting next to Sahn, both displaying a combination of anxiousness and melancholy. Maya gulped. She and Tony were going to be married, he had asked her on his knee, and she accepted without reserve. But now he was wed to Sandra and they had two children together. She and the others had learned of this development from an unthinking chatty operative that escorted them from the travel tube to the briefing. Maya was heartbroken, had felt a sympathetic squeeze to her shoulder from Alan, but could hardly fault Tony for moving on when all on Alpha thought Eagle Three, and all inside, were gone forever.

"I take it none of the other planets in the galaxy the moon was in before the transition could support humanoids?" Koenig inquired. At Verdeschi's nod he asked, "How have you managed? You've done an incredible job, Tony, but as strong and self-sufficient as Alpha is – without certain minerals, chemicals, and resources we scavenge from planets, dead worlds, and asteroids, Alpha should have become inoperative long ago. It would …"

Helena answered, her soft throaty voice quivering ever so slightly. "Three years after we lost you …" Her face was a mask of composure as she shook off what had become emotional chaos in her brain. "… when morale was low, when resources were depleted, and matters were looking very bleak, we were contacted and approached by an alien race who helped us. They understood our predicament and thought we could benefit from a trade."

"Trade?" Carter echoed, dubious.

Verdeschi continued, glancing from Carter, to Helena, then back to Koenig. "In exchange for four volunteer Alphan couples, they gave us all the resources we would need to travel space, build, and continue to have children. A few generations down the line Alpha will again approach another galaxy with compatible planets, where our descendent can finally find a new world to colonize and start fresh."

The Eagle crew looked at one another, unease and reservation visible on their faces.

Sandra said, "Their intentions were honest. We asked them if all of us on the moon could come and live on their planet. They said no, only the four couples we selected, but they promised they would treat them well and the moon would become enhanced from their superior technology."

Alan Carter looked stunned, "So you did it? You just gave up eight of our people and allowed these aliens to do God knows what with them?"

"It was not like that!" Sandra spoke firmly, her expression darkening. "They volunteered to go with them and their alien technology _did_ save Moonbase Alpha."

"But at what price? How could you know?" Koenig asked. "Did you ever hear from them again?"

"We did." Professor Tsu said, feeling the filtered air about them suddenly becoming pungent with accusation. He could also see his Commander's expression darkening. Verdeschi was a good man but he did have a temper when his authority was being questioned. He probably felt doubly threatened when the questions were coming from John Koenig, a leader of near legend. "The couples came back to Alpha a few years later, smarter and content. They told us it was a good experience. They were observed, valued, and gave speeches about Earth and Alpha. They were treated kindly by all who met them. They lived with a highly advanced society in splendor and all but one couple returned to their planet."

"Which two?" Maya asked, curious.

"Bill and Annette Fraiser. They volunteered to come back to us and stay – to teach us new things. And they have." Tsu smiled gently at Maya, "I would say they could even teach you a thing or two, Miss Maya."

Maya smiled mildly and nodded. They had chosen her replacement wisely. Professor Tsu was smart and charismatic.

"We will go into all of that later, even take you around Alpha to show you what we have done to improve her, but for now we have to be vigilant." Verdeschi made a motion to the security men who brought comlocks over to Koenig and the rest, "Limited access." He said, curtly. "Just for a while. You will all need physical exams and orientation."

"Tony!" Carter nearly bristled, "How can you …?"

"Don't judge us, Alan." Sahn demanded, perhaps a bit more indignantly than she intended. "If you had been left behind you would react the same way. It's procedure, common sense, and good security."

Koenig watched as Alan quieted and blinked against the small woman's resolute tone. If he had ever thought there might be something between Sandra and Alan it was confirmed with this exchange. It appeared that love and loss was an epidemic on the moon. Once again, as hard as he tried not to look at Helena, for fear he might reveal too much, John snuck a glance and wondered if she too had moved on. He could not ask her, not yet. He may hate the response she gave. Focusing, he said: "When I left Alpha, it was as its Commander. Now you are its Commander, Tony. Where does that leave us?"

"We'll figure it out, John. In time." Verdeschi said, diplomatically.

'Adjustments.' He thought. Small steps before the heavier issues were addressed. Reasonable.

They spent another hour talking, discussing the changes on the moon, explaining their home's expansion, and how their children had become everything to the Alphans. School was currently in session, they were told, and even now the boys and girls were being told about the return of Alphans they had thought lost to them forever.

John hoped A.J. was being advised in a gentle manner. Finally, his father had come home.

* * *

Helena sat with Maya in her quarters, holding her hand, explaining how devastated Tony was after they had disappeared. She told the Psychon how he got through the grieving process by being the best Commander he could, and it took three years before he even looked at another woman. Then Sandra, having experienced the loss of Alan, a man she once thought of as a big brother, then possibly more, came to him and they realized that they could be happy together. What he had with Sandra was not what he had with Maya but it was soft, comfortable, and loving. It produced two children, a boy and girl, and they needed each other.

She left Maya coping and wished there was more she could say or do. They had once been close friends and would be again, she was sure, but telling a woman why her lover was with another was never easy.

Now Helena had a complication of her own to deal with. Slowly, she walked to her quarters, the one she shared with her son, and entered. Thoughtful, Helena moved to her bed – further into the room - and gently sat down. She opened the drawer to her bedside table and pulled out a framed photo of she and John at an event on Alpha, a party of some kind, taken months before he disappeared. They were smiling and very happy. Personal, intimate moments between them, assuaged her. His touch, smile, and the sound of his voice as he murmured sweetly into her ear as they lay together, came back from the spot in her mind where Helena had pushed them into the darkness. It was the only way she could muddle through her life, post Koenig, on Alpha. Still, he had never been entirely out of her mind. How could he when his son, looking so much like John, was with her night and day?

Aaron James knew who his father was, she never kept it a secret from him, but for the boy he had been a phantom, a legendary Commander who just happened to sire him. And while he was proud to have the lineage of a near King – A.J. was also burdened by its expectation. She glanced at the door that separated their living quarters from his small bedroom, adorned with colorful posters, various hanging spaceship models, and paper mâché planets. Things a boy like A.J., brought up on Moonbase Alpha, knew about and respected.

Helena smiled, remembering. Aaron once clung to her when young, weeping when pushed to the floor during play, and again later when receiving the bad news of a much-needed tonsillectomy. He confessed to Helena the night before the procedure that he really did not want to have it done. A.J. wanted so much to be brave but, on the day of his surgery, the six-year old's hand firmly clung to hers when he spotted Dr. Vincent preparing anesthetic. His soulful blue eyes looked up into his mother's as she bent over the bed to gently ruffle his hair, telling him he would go to sleep soon and wake happier and healthier. His whisper of "hating naps" touched her heart as his eyes closed.

He had been her brave boy and he would have to be again.

She would also have to be courageous. There were things John needed to know. She, at this moment, did not grasp how to tell him about certain developments. Would he find her suddenly unattractive when the undisclosed was revealed? Helena knew him as an honorable man, a husband who would not abandon his post easily, but part of her also knew a man could be asked to make only so many allowances.

If he asked her for a divorce, she would give it to him – and die a little inside – as she had when learning the love of her life had disappeared, allegedly never to return. If that piece of history had proven to be erroneous perhaps the other would work in her favor too. But Helena did not know if she could wait another ten years for John to come around. "In sickness and in health. God help me." She whispered and placed the photograph back into the desk drawer.

* * *

Earlier in the day, after their uncomfortable command meeting, the Eagle crew were asked to report to Medical Center.

"Congratulations, Commander Koenig. You are who you say you are." Dr. Ben Vincent diagnosed and pulled the bulky scanner aside. He smiled, frankly pleased by his medical judgement. Vincent and others, possibly with the exception of Dr. Russell, were initially as skeptical as the Command Center crew but now, looking at Koenig, Maya, Carter and the rest – viewing their perfectly humanoid body scans on a lighted panel, Vincent and Dr. Nunez were sure. The crew of Eagle Three had returned, looking no different than when they had left. Their individual psychological profiles, while slightly skewed do to current events, were normal as well.

However, Maya and Steiner were showing distinct signs of lethargy, an on-set of depression, both having come back to heartache. While the Psychon had to contend with a lost love, a bit problematic but not incurable with hard work of which she would have plenty, poor Steiner's wife had died, committed suicide after her husband was lost. They had planned to have a baby and Kathryn could not move on without him. Dr. Mathias, a trained psychologist, immediately took Steiner aside. More than a few appointments were in his future.

Carter seemed slightly out of sorts in retrospect, but all knew the Australian was adaptable and would soon be his old friendly self. He started his healing by walking to their Eagle hanger. He was looking forward to seeing the innovations made over the last ten years to their transport. Rossi went with him.

While Maya was asked to report to their science department, where Dr. Tsu could clue her into a few new scientific discoveries, she elected to go her quarters. She had asked Helena to meet her there, so they could talk. She really needed a friend.

Koenig hung back, not only unsure where he should go from here, a one-time moonbase Commander who obviously had little power to rule or control these days, but he had questions. He could tell by Dr. Vincent's evasive demeanor, how he was looking a little too hard at some paperwork, that he knew what was coming. "Is she all right?" John asked.

"Helena? Yes, she is fine _now_."

"Now?" Koenig tried to read his expression.

"It was tough on her, Commander." Vincent blinked a little, not quite looking at him. It was amazing how easy it was to revert to calling this man by a title which was reserved for Verdeschi. "But she was and is a strong woman."

Koenig hesitated before saying, "Why do I feel like you are not telling me something?"

Vincent turned and met his eyes with his own, suddenly ignoring the paperwork. "You need to talk with her. She is off duty, probably in her quarters after counseling Maya, and you must have a conversation."

Before he left John said, "Tell me this, just so I can prepare … Did she remarry?"

The doctor paused for a moment before replying, "No." he said, "She never remarried, Commander. Go talk with her."

* * *

End of Part Two.


	3. Part 3

**PART THREE.**

* * *

Her head was bowed and, while she knew she probably needed to set up an appointment with Dr. Mathias, to speak with him about anxiety and sudden feelings of inadequacy, Sandra came to Helena instead. Perhaps it was because she knew the woman was in a quandary herself but, in all honestly, they had been friends for years and it just seemed right that they talked.

"You really have nothing to worry about, Sahn." Helena appeased.

They sat in her quarters, in the open lounging area, coffee pot and cups on the table before them.

"No? His beautiful, exotic alien fiancé returns, only a day older than when he last saw her, and I should _not_ be worried?" Sandra lifted fingers to touch the underside of her smooth chin. She had noted what she perceived as a second chin starting to make an appearance and was self-conscious. "What if Maya decides to fight for her man?" she wondered. "I cannot compete."

Helena smiled gently and tolerantly at the smaller woman. Although she undoubtedly should not have said anything, probably better advising Sandra to speak directly to the Psychon on the matter, Helena admitted: "I spoke with Maya and she understands the situation. She is honorable and can see that you and Tony are close and enduring. She would never do anything to jeopardize that."

"And she is inconsolable, I'm sure. Men like nothing better than to sooth a lovely heartbroken woman." Sandra picked up her cup and sipped thoughtfully. She then took a breath, "Maybe she is honorable, and does not intend to cause trouble, but I do not think Tony has looked into my eyes since the moment that Eagle appeared on our scanners. Then when he saw them, saw her, I could feel him tense-up right beside me." Sandra exhaled, "He still loves her."

"Sahn, he was in shock. So was _I_ … " Helena paused and swallowed slightly. She looked off in the distance, momentarily recalling what could have been a dream or hallucination. He stood there, just having stepped off the travel tube, handsome and looking for her. And Helena was terrified. "It was as if our past came back to haunt us."

Suddenly remembering, Sandra placed her cup on Helena's table and turned to look at her friend closely. "Have you told him? Are you going to tell him?"

Helena's eyes darted slightly then closed. "We haven't had a chance to be alone yet." She spoke above her own cup, allowing its aroma and warmth sooth her frayed nerves. "I have many things to tell him, Sahn." She then opened her eyes and saw sympathetic brown eyes looking into her own, "I just don't know where to start."

"You are a heroine, Helena. Everyone who was there, who knows what you've been through, knows that you did what you had to do. You went beyond what any of the rest of us could do – even Tony. I nearly lost him that day, Helena, and still might have if … if it wasn't for you." Then she added, "Alpha would no longer be. John, Alan, Maya …. They would have come back to nothing." And it nearly killed Helena, although many tried to gloss over that fact. Helena amongst them.

Curious, Helena almost asked Sandra about Alan, what it was like for her to see him after all these years. Alan had always been a bit of a playboy but before he left on Eagle Three Helena sensed he and Sandra had taken a turn in their relationship. He was no longer a mere protector but something more tender. She recalled Sandra being very upset when the Eagle was lost but she could not quite fathom it, deeply in grief herself at the time. Instead, Helena shook the question off for another time and said: "I'm not so sure John will feel that way. But if he and I hope to rekindle what we had he'll need to know. Besides," she added glumly, "Evidence of the encounter is all over my body. He's bound to notice if ..."

Sandra shivered and nodded sadly.

As if to test their line of conversation, a blip came over Helena's compost and John Koenig's face was on the screen. There was silence for a count of ten. He then asked, "May I come in, Helena?"

Sandra reached over and touched Helena's hand, "Be strong." She whispered and stood as the door parted.

He entered slowly, pensively, but smiled fondly when regarding Sandra.

"It is so good to see you again, Commander." She lifted her hand and he took it, "I am sorry that we treated you coolly at first but we had to be careful."

"I understand." John said and squeezed Sandra's fingers gently, "I would have done the same."

The smile slipped ever so slightly from her face. The base now appeared to have two Commanders. Personal issues aside, if she knew her husband as well as she thought she did Sandra recognized that Tony would not give up his command easily to another. Yet, this was Commander Koenig, a brilliant man and leader. Perhaps if he wanted it bad enough Tony might be willing to hand it over. After ten years, Tony just might want the rest. She thought to have a long conversation with her husband in bed this evening. Perhaps Helena was going to do the same with John? She smiled privately at the thought. "I have things to do." Sandra abruptly said and pulled her hand from his. "Take care." She called to both and quickly walked from Helena's quarters, allowing the door to shut behind her.

"Sandra and Tony, hunh." He said, more as a statement of fact than a question as he moved further into their, or her, quarters.

"Yes. They are good together." Helena said, "She gave him strength when he needed it most."

"And Maya?"

"I've talked with her. She is in pain but will be well, I'm sure."

Koenig stood quietly, looking at Helena as she pushed Sandra's coffee cup away and procured another fresh cup from the decorative mug hanger on the table top in front of the sofa. "Sit." She said, motioning to the sofa cushion beside her. She poured John a cup of coffee and added a little milk, remembering how he liked it. She then handed him the cup as he sat down.

"How is A.J.?" he asked quietly, sipping.

"Good. I was going to go see him, perhaps even pull him out of class so I could better explain what is happening, but his teacher, Pamela, told me to leave it to her. It would come easier, she thought, hailing from a mentor. She said I could add all the loving touches a mother should after she released him for the day. That should be soon." Helena looked from her cup to John's profile, "I think she wanted to give me some time to adjust as well. No point in his mother bursting into tears, trying to explain the unexplainable to her child, before she was ready."

"And are you ready?" he asked, quietly.

"It may be something we should talk with Aaron about together, John. By the way, he prefers to be called Aaron, not A.J. I'm not sure why."

"He's growing up and has his preferences. All boys eventually do." Koenig spoke a little sadly. The couple were quiet for a few moments, drinking their coffee, when he said, "Ben thought it would be a good idea for the two of us to have a conversation tonight. I was going to do it later, when I thought you were ready to see me again, but he thought I should talk with you right away. He seemed to think you might have something important to tell me."

"And you didn't _want_ to speak with me tonight?"

He looked at her, a bit stunned, "Yes, of course I did… _do_. I mean, I wanted to talk to you the minute I saw you but … I just wasn't sure …" He stumbled then, "Hell, I'm not sure _I_ am ready, Helena. I know how insane this is for you but it is for me also."

Helena could not help a short chuckle. Even in their past, when John was nervous and frustrated, he had a look about him that was part drowning man and part small boy with a puzzle. "You need a good orientation, John. All of you do. Yet, there are some things … personal things …"

"Yes?" His voice held a question, feeling Helena was holding back as much as Ben did. Although Vincent said Helena had not remarried, that did not prevent her from having a deep, loving relationship with another man. Perhaps that was what he could not tell his one time Commander.

Determined, she put her cup on the table and took his to do the same. "I am going to tell you something you will not want to hear." Helena spoke bluntly, "I didn't want to bring it up, if I'm being honest, but if we hope to have any kind of relationship, if we want to be a good mother and father to Aaron together, you need to know. I can't keep it a secret from you. It has become a part of who I am…"

The dread in her voice, despite its resolve, made Koenig inwardly cringe. This was more than another man. Apparently, something terrible, potentially appalling, happened and the strain on Helena's face merely added to Ben Vincent's uneasy manner in Medical Center. John steeled himself for the worst.

"Two years after Eagle Three disappeared, while we were travelling through this black void, the moon was approached by a savage alien race. We don't know how they found us. Maybe it was merely by chance. Anyway, they were humanoid but big and brawny – and warlike. We did everything to keep them out of Alpha but along with their viciousness came advanced alien technology. They were on us and in the base before we knew it. Many Alphans, including the children, managed to make it to the lower levels and safely hid from them but Command Center and the upper levels, including Medical Center, were there for the taking. Tony tried to bargain with their leader, Brount, but it broke down."

Koenig noted that the name of the alien appeared to leave a bad taste in Helena's mouth, but she shook it off.

"Tony was sent to Medical Center, unconscious with broken ribs, a leg, and contusions. Did you notice he walks with a slight limp even now?"

He did and John also noted a scar on Tony's face.

"The aliens ran rampant through-out the base and, in the end, I took command of Alpha."

"You." John said, simply, unsurprised. Helena was a competent leader.

"Yes, someone had to. I did my best to talk with them. I told Brount we would give them all we reasonably could if they would just leave us in peace. He agreed on one condition ..."

Koenig felt his back suddenly straighten at Helena's hesitation, her troubled expression. It spoke of trauma and unspeakable pain, he quickly realized. And what was it that warlike, unconscionable men wanted from women, particularly a woman who looked like Helena, when they knew they could take anything they wanted?

"Brount … He saw me as a woman of strength. He appreciated that. He wanted me."

Koenig sat still, his breathing controlled, fists clenched and tightening.

"I was _not_ going to be a victim, John. But they were destroying the base and would have made it impossible for us to continue, even for another year, if I did not do something. So … I agreed."

Unable to prevent it, Koenig's teeth clenched.

"However, I set the rules; the where and when. Not that it helped that much …I spent twelve hours with their leader." Helena cleared her throat and looked about the room, "But _not_ here. I couldn't. Not in quarters I shared with our son and certainly not in the same room where you and I had …" She shook her head, feeling helplessness and oppressed despite what she told John. She detested her decision even now but, as Sandra said, she was left with little choice, as their leader and a woman. "When it was over their leader, despite it all or because I had pleased him, was as good as his word. They left us. Brount and his men did take some vital supplies but nothing we could not do without for a while." Helena closed her eyes and her voice grew low, into a mere murmur. "Only a few Alphans really knew what made them go away, including Tony, Sandra, and some of the medical staff."

Koenig's eyes held unshed tears that threatened to fall at her next statement.

"Medical needed to know because they had to treat me. I was physically and somewhat emotionally out of commission for quite some time after that. Sandra took care of Aaron for me. He was only two at the time and accepted that I was simply ill." Then, she added, not looking at him. "It was brutal."

 _Silence._

He felt sickened.

Carefully, John reached over and placed his hand on one of hers, feeling it shake underneath his own. She had made a decision that saved Alpha and it nearly destroyed her. He tried to get his head around it. He wanted to say the right words, to reassure her, but they were eluding him. All he could think to say was, "If I had been here that never would have happened, Helena." He did not say 'It's my fault.' but the self indictment hung in the air.

She shook her head and spoke in a gentle monotone, "Not true, John. I told you what happened to Tony. The same would have happened to you, Tony or Alan or anyone … I'm not sure my decision would have or could have been different."

Gulping, he pressed - "Maya could have did something. She would have used her molecular transformation powers to stop them." he insisted.

"Perhaps. But she wasn't on Alpha. John, and I had to do what I did." Helena's voice was suddenly deceptively firm.

Koenig could not even imagine the horrible physical and emotional issues Helena must have had to deal with in the aftermath. Even after eight years she still appeared to be working through the ordeal. She was the mother of a very young son at the time. She had to have been thinking of Aaron and all the other children, most being babies at the time. Then there were mothers and fathers, workers, and loved ones - many probably in Medical Center with injuries, like Tony. She _had_ to take command and save her people. Yet, she was forced to do the one thing Helena loathed to do most. She used her body to rid their home of a sadistic alien menace!

Finally, John asked, "Are you all right?"

She countered, eyes now looking into his, reserved and unnaturally cool. "Are _you_?"

This time he did not pause. "Helena, I love you." He said then added, "I think you are the most remarkable woman I've ever met in my life. And I want to spend the rest of it with you – and Aaron."

With a gasp of breath, allowing the façade to drop, Helena fell into his arms with a sob and allowed him to hold her.

* * *

 **END OF PART THREE.**

 _(In PART FOUR A.J. finally meets his father. How will he react? Also, Helena might have another secret or two to reveal to John. And what about Maya, Tony, Sandra, and Alan …? More surprises, good and bad, are in store for Moonbase Alpha!)_


	4. Part 4

**Part Four**

* * *

Koenig rested, even slept for a couple hours, but too many things weighed heavily on his mind to relax for long.

Still, there were feats to be grateful for. He was now laying in a comfortable bed, a cool sheet pulled up to his naked chest, and he was not alone. Helena lay beside him, her lovely head resting on his shoulder, hair tousled, and she was sleeping peacefully in the aftermath of gentle, profound yet passionate love-making.

Their time together truly was special, particularly since she knew he was trying - possibly a bit too hard - to please her, to hide his grief when he touched her body and felt another scar on her bare back, arms, legs, abdomen, and breasts. They covered Helena's body, the result of her time with Brount. Whenever John felt a raised wound it was a reminder of how she was brutalized, taken by a fiend, and he was not on Moonbase Alpha to protect her.

Now he knew, in part, why Helena felt the story had to be told. Her mistreatment by the alien held not just physical reminders of the event but the mental torture inflicted had also changed her, made her tentative to a man's touch; even if she loved him, bore his child, and they were wed. Could an unconventional life together, as intense and tight as theirs had been, born out of a closeness a post-apocalyptic experience formed, recover after yet another shattering life-changing trauma? It did not seem possible.

Yet the couple's reunion, having started off dubious, had been lovely – their bond intact - and soon they were loving one another like they had never been parted. Under the circumstances, it could not be better. Even so, there were other personal problems to address.

John Koenig's son rejected him.

The boy had come home to their quarters only minutes after Helena told John of her ordeal. While they were sitting on the sofa, as he was holding her, soothing her, the doors parted and there stood Arron James Koenig. He stared at John, unsurprised it seemed, but that made sense. Thanks to the announcement and guidance of his teacher, young Arron was made aware he would be meeting with his father. Yet, he may not have thought it would be so soon.

"A.J." Koenig said simply, and Helena looked up at him then over to where John's attention was directed.

"Oh," Helena sat straighter and lifted a hand to her son, urging him to come closer, "I have someone here you need to meet."

The boy stepped slowly forward, his hands clasped behind his back, face impassive.

John could see himself in Aaron, tall, slender, naturally tanned, with a dark head of hair and very blue eyes. Yet, his mouth, chin and nose belonged to Helena. His current demeanor, the way he had dropped a poker-face during a stressful situation, was reminiscent of his mother as well. He was a handsome young man with, it seemed, deep thoughts and John could not help being proud.

Helena spoke gently yet eagerly, "I know you have been told he and the crew of the lost Eagle Three have returned. How it happened is something our scientists can explain better than I, but he is here, Aaron. John Koenig, your father, has returned to us and we are so pleased."

" _You_ are pleased." Aaron said, quietly, looking at his mother. "Good for you."

'A strong voice for a ten-year old.' John thought and tried to connect with his son, leaning forward, attempting to meet his gaze with his own. "And I'm pleased to meet you again, A.J. The last time I saw you, I was holding you and feeding you with a bottle. I know you've made your mother very happy while I've been away. I am incredibly grateful for that. You have no idea. But I want us to become friends … Eventually, I want to be the father you deserve."

The boy now looked at him, "My name is Aaron." He said, coolly.

There was a short pause.

"I am sorry, _Aaron._ My father's name was Aaron. Did you know that?"

"Yes, Mother told me."

Koenig could see that A.J. was sizing him up, unsure if he wanted to commit, but he could also sense there was resentment. The man sitting in front of him was a stranger, someone who left he and his mother when he was yet a baby. It did not seem to matter that it was an unintended absence. John knew he needed to show Aaron that his intentions were respectable. Smoothly, he reached out to touch his shoulder. "I care about you and your mother, Aaron, and I …."

The boy stepped back to avoid him, shrugging off the hand.

"Aaron!" Helena snapped, appalled by their son's bad manners. "That was rude."

"May I go to bed, Mother?"

"You haven't had supper yet." She pointed out.

"I'm not hungry."

"Then go. When you get up in the morning, I expect a different attitude, young man."

Aaron said nothing. He marched himself into his room, without a goodnight or a kiss, and the door slid shut behind him. They could hear the electronic lock slide in place but, honestly, if Helena really wanted to enter, and she would later, all she needed to do is use her own comlock to unlock the door. It was a mother and father's privilege.

John exhaled and looked at Helena, "That did not go so well."

"Give him some time to get a better grasp on the idea. He's usually open and kind. He really is, John."

"I can't really blame him. He's as in-shock as the rest of Alpha."

Helena smiled gently, "Let me order dinner and I will try to fill you in on what has been going on, and some of the things you will see tomorrow when Tony takes you and the rest on a tour."

He nodded and as Helena called into her comlock, ordering supper, he looked over to Aaron's room. The closed door seemed a near mockery, laughing at his deficiency, and John wished he had the words to make the boy see him as his father, not an interloper. Perhaps, he thought solemnly, it was the price he paid when so many years ago he was granted his dream of a wife, son, and happiness in deep space for all too brief a time. He thought he could have it all and maybe he could again - in time.

* * *

Helena had ordered a meal for Aaron and took it in to him. She told John that the boy pretended to be sleeping but she knew the tray, place on his bedside table, would be empty by morning. "He has a good appetite."

Later, Helena brought out an electronic pad with photos and films, and she showed John how the base had grown over the years. He also noted how the children, so many who were babies when he last saw them, had become school-aged and teens. He missed a great deal and John could not help allowing the regret show. He also saw how Aaron had grown through the years, various photos being taken with Alphan crew members and children that he knew very well. The video of Aaron meeting Tony and Sandra's baby girl for the first time was especially poignant.

Oddly, there was a single page with a few captures that Helena quickly flipped over and, although he was curious, John allowed her to be elusive. She had already told him so much and he did not want to press her. Besides, they would have plenty of time later to rediscover each other and, possibly, become reacquaint with their friends as a couple.

Finally, at the end of the night, when their food had been eaten and two glasses of wine, which tasted much better than John remembered, had been consumed, he found himself wondering where he should go next. He did not want to presume on Helena, yet he wasn't entirely sure what she was expecting. The indecision was quickly diminished when the woman leaned over and kissed him directly on the lips. It was not a mere peck but a long, soft, sweet kiss that promised more if he was wanting. But then she pulled back slightly, remembering something, and seemed a little uncertain, even disturbed.

"Helena?" He asked, his arm loosening around her.

"How badly do you want to stay with me tonight?" she asked, candidly.

Such an odd question. "Do you really need to ask?"

She inhaled and stood, pulling entirely free from his embrace.

John was more than a little confused when she started to pace in front of him. "Helena, what's wrong?"

"You know I am older than you now." She said. "You were about three, nearly four years older than me once but now, over the years, I've grown older …"

"Helena, you are beautiful. Besides," he teased, "I've always had a thing for older women." He hoped that lessened her fears.

"John, that's not the only …" She stopped, not quite looking at him. Slowly, making another decision Helena hoped she would not regret, she unclasped her belt and unfastened the zipper at her shoulder. She peeled off her tunic and turned around, giving John a good look at the mangled chaos that was once her smooth, unblemished back. It looked as if the alien, a beast of a lifeform, had tortured Helena with any number of sharp devices. She said she had been with him for twelve hours.

' _Oh, my God.'_

Koenig nearly shook at the sight, sickened and intensely appalled. It was not the display but what caused it. Was it any wonder she had to be hospitalized for a long period of time after? The act tormented Helena until this very day. She would not tell anyone, including John, what exactly had happened, but it left a mark on her, literally and figuratively. John lifted fingers to his mouth, horrified but hoping the motion would prevent an unwanted sound from between his lips. He quickly lowered them, his expression growing calm, when she turned about to look at him.

'I will make you forget.' He thought, 'I _have_ to!'

* * *

He kissed her on the forehead as she slept.

That last thought had been emotional and probably a little self-indulgent on his part. She would never forget. How could she? But he would be there, holding Helena as he was doing now, making certain she knew that barbarism would never happen again. Not to her, their son, or anyone on Alpha if he had his way.

And, for now, Helena seemed well. She was brave and his return, John hoped, made all the difference in the world.

Again, he looked over at Aaron's bedroom door in the dim light of the room. They would make it work, one step at a time.

* * *

The tour was extraordinary.

Tunnels had been opened deep below the moons surface, expanding the moonbase, allowing for family play areas, internal power sources, a detailed medical and science lab, and an abundance of "nourish nooks", areas where hydroponics had upped their game, growing more curiously flavorful and plentiful fruits and vegetables.

"The best tofu this side of the universe." Kurt Venge, their kitchen dietician and supervisor announced with a jolly smile. He came out and spoke with the Alphans, shaking Koenig's hand repeatedly, happy to see their old Commander home again. He presented their refrigeration units, freeze-drying components, twenty-five ovens, various microwaves, and a massive stand mixture exclusively for bread and yeast products. He appeared to be most proud of his bean and mushroom vats.

"You've done well." Koenig said again to Verdeschi and reminded himself he did not need to reiterate something the Commander of the base already knew. Still, he hoped Tony understood that, as a friend, he truly was impressed.

Alan Carter, as a juxtaposition, had been disappointed in the lack of growth to their Eagle hanger. Nevertheless, even that was understandable. They were in the middle of nowhere. No amount of deep space exploration was going to change what they already knew. Millions of miles, and they had nowhere to go. Downsizing in that respect was inevitable.

"We did over-haul security on Moonbase Alpha." Verdeschi said, rightly thinking Koenig would wonder about this aspect of their living condition. If he suspected Helena and John had spoken, that they had spent the night together, he would have to know that their lack of security in those first few years in the void did not serve them well. "We have, thanks to alien technology, a powerful defense shield and some impressive high-powered laser cannons at our disposal. No outside force will _ever_ reach us unless we want them to." he assured.

Maya could only look at Tony, admiring but sad. She stayed to the back of the crowd, speaking only when spoken to. It was too hard to pretend to be interested when she felt, for the first time since being assured by John and Helena after Psychon exploded, that she did have a life on the moonbase.

Alan stood beside her, sensing her pain, and draped a gentle arm around her shoulders.

* * *

By the time Aaron awoke, dressed, and carefully made his way out of his bedroom, John Koenig was gone. He looked at his mother, who was sitting quietly in the living area, thumbing through some worksheets, drinking her morning coffee.

"Didn't he stay?" the boy asked, approaching her, an electronic learner in his small hands.

"Would it please you if he hadn't?" Helena asked, looking up and at her son, still unhappy with his attitude the night before.

"I don't know." He said, honestly.

Helena put her papers on their coffee table and motioned for the boy to sit next to her.

He did, a little down and perplexed.

"Aaron, this is a wonderful event. Something that never could have happened but, miraculously, did. When your father was lost so was I for the longest time. I put him behind us – but now he is back and – it's _amazing_. We have a second chance to live together as a family."

"I know." He said, sounding like a child who got a good, if a little introspective, night sleep and might be having second thoughts. "I'm sorry, Mother. I know I wasn't very nice to him."

"No, you weren't." Helena agreed without coddling, "He was reaching out to you, trying to connect to the son he loved the first moment he saw him, and you pushed him away."

"You think I should go find him and apologize?"

Helena nearly smiled. Aaron really was a good child, despite a rebellious streak. "No, you need to go to breakfast then class. But the next time you see him you might want to give him a chance. He's a good man."

"I will." Aaron said, still a little down, looking at his hands as they rested on his lap.

"Hey," Helena gently put a couple fingers under the boy's chin and made him look at her. "Are you worried about something?"

"I just don't want him to …" he hesitated, fearful for a moment.

"Hurt me?" she asked, confused. "He would never do that, Aaron."

"No, I don't think he would do that either." The boy was again introspective, "I can see he cares about you."

"Then what?"

"I don't want him to take you away … _from me_." He confessed.

Helena's eyes widened. Why had she not thought of that. A stranger to Aaron had suddenly come into their home, a man he only knew from photos, short videos and Alpha history, and started up where he had left off with his mother. He walked in on them embracing. That had to be threatening to a ten-year old, the only true love of Helena's life, since he had known her. "He could never do that, Aaron." She pledged, "I am your Mother and I love you more than anything in the universe." She softly cupped his cheek, "And if you give him the opportunity, your father will show you he feels the same way about you as I do."

Smiling, Aaron put his arms around Helena and hugged her. "Yes," he said, "I'll give him a chance." But then he pulled gently away, his expression turning slightly solemn, "But what about Uncle Dave?"

Helena felt a sudden jolt to her system but covered it by saying, "He can still be your friend." She then quickly added, "Now, get along before you are late. And drink _all_ of your milk at breakfast."

"Okay." With the exuberance of a healthy child, Aaron jump up, kissed his mother, then grabbed his electronic learner, and trotted out of their quarters.

Helena watch the door slide shut behind her son and gently sighed. _'Uncle Dave'_ was another little thing she would eventually have to discuss with John.

* * *

 **END OF PART FOUR.**


	5. Part 5

**PART FIVE.**

* * *

It was a conversation they had to have but neither man was eager to broach the subject.

They stood in Tony Verdeschi's spacious quarters, drinks in hand, their meeting to fill in the blanks, talking of matters John might not have caught onto or had questions regarding during earlier conversations and the tour. John admired his and Sandra's home. It was bigger than the accommodations John had with Helena and Aaron, with multiple rooms. But then again, Verdeschi was providing for a larger family – and he was Alpha's Commander.

Koenig wanted to ask him about Maya, how he was coping with seeing her again, but supposed if Tony wanted to talk with anyone about her he would mention it all on his own. He hadn't but it was not hard to see the conflict in his expression every time she stepped into the same room he was in. John was sure, sometime soon, Tony probably would speak with him, an old friend with internal struggles of his own, yet Maya was really the person he needed to talk with. It was their business and John really had no say in it.

Meanwhile, the real question of the hour was in the back of both of their minds and, honestly, there was no easy answer.

"What happens from here, Tony?" John asked, bringing the drink up to his lips, a form of brandy he was told, and sipped it tentatively.

"What do you _want_ to happen, John?" Verdeschi replied, quickly seeing his own question for the copout it was.

A stalemate.

Turning to look at his friend, once gain noting how responsible he appeared, that scar on his cheek, and the way he held himself; a confident but fatigued man who was compelled to work through an on-going illness or injury. As with Helena's ordeal, Tony was still coping with impairment and probably a lot of guilt feelings. It made him look rugged but also primed. "I can't deny that you look good in that black sleeve." Koenig quipped and smiled at his friend's snicker. "Guess I just need to know where I am expected to work now. What _is_ my position on Alpha?"

"Do you want to become Alpha's Commander again, John?"

And there it was. _The_ question. It would seem natural for him to take up where he left off, but it was not that simple.

"You've been doing the job well for quite a while, Tony, and I do not see why that should change. Our people respect and rely on you."

Verdeschi looked away from him for a moment, took a drink from his glass, remembering a time when he failed Alpha. Helena had taken on the leadership role, something he tried to do with less than acceptable results, becoming injured in the process, and he would feel culpable about that – what had happened to her - until the day he died. Even as he had laid there in Medical Center, gritting his teeth through the pain of his own wounds, Commander Verdeschi could not help thinking that John Koenig would never have let it get as far as it did. He somehow would have stopped it all. Tony said: "I've been thinking about it, John, and we could always co-command the base. I think that might make everyone happy."

Koenig did not answer right away. He knew Tony probably discussed the situation with Sahn and she may have been the one with the idea. Her husband had been in command for ten years and she probably did not have him around as much as she liked. John wondered how many nights Sandra and the children were left alone when his command took him to the catacombs or new construction. Still, Verdeschi was a born leader and even as the suggestion was made, Koenig could hear and feel the hesitation in his voice.

"No." John finally said. "Alpha needs only one Commander. The two of us attempting to run the base would not just strain our friendship, should we have a disagreement, but might confound our people. They need to know who to look to for leadership and security. One man or woman. And, from what I've seen, that's you."

"But it hasn't been easy." Verdeschi admitted, "Between random space debris colliding with the moon, an alien invasion, inside arguments and minor mutinies, I sometimes wonder how it is we managed to make it this far into outer-space."

"You don't know how many times I felt the same way, Tony." Koenig empathized.

"You have the experience, John, and while I might still command Alpha I sure could use a friend as an advisor and second in command. Especially as we move further into this black void we're traveling through. The kids are great, never having lived another life, but some of our oldsters … they are having problems that medicine can't cure. Sometimes I just don't have the words to help them. Maybe you do."

"Yes, that I can do." John said, a little sadness in his tone. He remembered the now long-gone Victor Bergman as his advisor. He still missed him. "Besides, that will give me time to concentrate on the wife and son. If I commanded Alpha, I'm not sure I could give them the attention they deserve. We have a lot of catching up to do."

The men downed their drinks and placed their glasses on the bar. They shook hands. A weight had been lifted from both their shoulders.

"How is it going with Aaron?" Tony asked, curious.

"Not good right now. I'll have to work on him. Show him I'm not some fickle gatecrasher."

"Well, if you need any tips I'm sure Dave Reilly …." Tony suddenly stopped talking, realizing he might have said too much.

"Dave Reilly? The Irish cowboy? What about him?"

"Yeah, well, he and the boy are close. Aaron refers to him as his Uncle. You know how kids are." Tony cleared his throat, "Besides your advisory duties, what section will you feel contented working in, John?"

It was then that Koenig realized that Tony was doing everything he could not to look him in the eyes. He could sense the Italian wanted, and tried, to change the subject. Obviously, he was hiding something.

"What else about Reilly, Tony?"

Inwardly, Verdeschi sighed. Helena was going to kill him.

* * *

"Seriously, Helena?"

"Are you angry?"

" _Stunned_ is more the word I was looking for."

They sat together, once again, in the living area of their now shared quarters. There was no reason for them to pretend they were anything but a wedded couple, despite their time apart. A new wardrobe for Koenig had been sent up, his two extra tunics sporting uncolored sleeves until further notice. "Maybe we should come up with a new color." John had quipped.

"Gray?" Helena suggested with a spot of sincerity. "Seems appropriate for the Commander's advisor."

He was also given a shaving kit, a set of pajamas, and his comlock was now upgraded to Level Alpha, given to all command staff.

"But seriously, Helena … _Dave Reilly_?"

She did not sense anger from him. More a form of disappointment or protectiveness. However, he was also trying to fathom the position Helena found herself in. She could nearly laugh at the bewilderment on his face.

"What could you and Reilly have in common?"

"At the time we were both lonely, John." She said, "But it wasn't just a quick decision and – boom – we were having an affair. It took months. You must believe that. Try to appreciate the circumstance. He was there, one of the few people who knew what had happened to me, when the aliens attacked us. Honestly, he took Aaron in hand, became good friends with him over the next few years, and was a father figure …"

She paused momentarily when John's head snapped up and he looked directly at her.

"Dave was exceptionally good with Aaron, John. No one can deny it. Especially after Brount and his warriors left us, as much as I loved our son, I was in no condition to take care and nurture him. Tony and Sandra did their best during that year but Aaron knew, even as a three then four year old, that their daughter and later son were no relation to him. They – not he - would take up most of the couple's attention and Tony could never be a true parental figure to him. Dave took up the slack."

John still tried to get his head around the idea. The archeologist had always been inattentive and rash in his opinion. But even as he thought about Reilly, he realized why he was giving the man an exceptionally low opinion. Dave Reilly was a professional; an archeologist, who would never have been on Alpha if he did not know what he was doing. He knew minerals and had a great eye for construction. He had been instrumental in tunneling, where and when to do it, during those first years in space and probably more so now. What it came down to, and John was not proud to admit it, was jealousy. "Okay fine. He was good with Aaron, became an Uncle and playmate to him, but that does not explain why you and he …"

"Dave was kind to me, sympathetic, and seemed to completely understand what I was going through. He tried to make me laugh and, after a while, he even succeeded. He was remarkably patient. Dave always had a sort of boyish charm, you know. Then, when I saw where it was going …" She thought back, remembered being wrapped in a sheet, feeling incredible pain, and strong arms were carrying her to Medical Center. "Dave knew he could not do anything until Brount left me but he was right there, ready to aid, the minute he knew it was safe for me and Alpha. He saw it, John, first hand. He saw what Brount had done to my body and mind. He was there and saw me hysterical, emotionally fragile, and in agony. Then, when I came back to myself …" Helena brushed away a tear. "He told me he would do anything to help. He felt he owed it to me – and to _you_. He became a better man over those years, John. Less interested in his rocks and more concerned with … Aaron and me. People in general."

"He fell in love with you, Helena." Koenig knew it was true even if she did not state it aloud.

"No … I don't know. Maybe he did." Helena shook her head back and forth, sadly. "I never even had him come here to sleep." She indicated their quarters, "We would always go to his place, take breaks and lunch periods together, and always with the lights off or dimmed." She added, "I had no reason to feel awkward. _You were gone_ – but I was very conscious of the way I appeared, and no man could … Even Dave or …" she struggled.

John reached out and touched her shoulder. "It's alright, Helena. I get it." He said, honestly, "He was there for you when I wasn't. You wanted someone. He loved you and you needed attention."

"Yes. That and Aaron cared for him too. But, if it will make you feel any better, it lasted three months then it was over. Dave was disappointed, even told me he would marry me …"

" _Marry you_?" Koenig back suddenly became ridged at the unpleasant thought. He had already seen how Tony and Sandra affected Maya. He could only imagine how he'd feel if, once returned, he found that Helena had wed Reilly!

"But I was afraid. And, even if he loved me, I did _not_ love him. I feel terrible about that. But I just couldn't love him or any man. If anything, I was using Dave and that really was unacceptable. Still, he adored Aaron and even after having his own little girl with Karen Loughlin, he stayed an important figure in A.J.'s life."

 _'_ _Just as I will be.'_ John thought and took one of her hands in his as she rested her head on his shoulder. She loved _him_ and that was what mattered. "Helena," he whispered. "It's okay."

* * *

As the days and weeks passed, the incorporation of their once missing comrades breathed new life into Moonbase Alpha.

There were parties, mixers where all the Alphans got reacquainted. Anecdotes were told by the Eagle Three crew, what they went through with the space warp, and even more stories were told to Koenig and his friends about Alpha and what everyone around them were up to over the ten years they missed.

The children were fascinated by the newcomers and the best two storytellers, Carter and Rossi. They were in constant demand during school classes. The children's educators loved to have the men come by and talk about anything they thought the kids might want to hear. Carter thought it odd that they mostly wanted to hear about Earth, Australia to be precise, from him. Also, his Eagle exploits.

"What is the most dangerous adventure you've ever had while flying?" a boy had asked him.

Alan spoke for two hours that day and the children hardly blinked as they stared at him, taking it all in.

In the science lab, Maya and Professor Tsu worked closely together and although she was not as enthusiastic as she once was about her duties, the Psychon did find pleasure in learning from her colleague and teaching him a few methods that came easily to her - and he eventually caught onto. Because Tsu was Alpha's head of science, he held a station in Command Center, leaving her free to do lab work. Maya was grateful for that. The less she had to be in Tony Verdeschi's company the better.

Yet, it was getting easier. A few days earlier she and Sandra had a conversation in the recreational area, not speaking about Tony specifically but their children and how they had inherited "Daddy's temper". Maya found herself laughing; even though she knew, weeks earlier, she would be mourning the idea that _she_ should be the mother of Tony's children. Maya recalled Sandra looking at her, smiling gently, a bit of relief in her expression.

They had reached an understanding. Life moved on.

Steiner was seeing Dr. Mathias three times a week. The suicide of his wife had not been an easy pill to swallow but, with the help of his doctor, the sympathy of his friends, and a lot of hard work, he was getting by and had even started new blueprints regarding the further expansion of Moonbase Alpha.

And finally, John Koenig did what he told Verdeschi he wanted to do. He got to know his family. It took a little time for Aaron to warm up to him but slowly, as the boy showed his father what his interests were, they bonded. John told him first hand stories of the places he visited on Earth and the worlds they came into contact with when first being propelled into outer space. The boy seemed truly fascinated by The Guardian who maintained the planet Piri. He also showed a great deal of alarm when John told Aaron about the journey in time he, Helena and Alan took to Scotland in 1339.

Before bed one evening he asked John, "Did the Scottish barbarians harm you?"

"No, not at first." John spoke gently at his bedside and glanced at Helena who was sitting in a chair on the other side of Aaron's bed. She mimed him to be careful. Aaron was just a little boy. She did not want him having nightmares. John decided he probably should leave out the part about nearly being burned to death. "But we eventually made it back, your Mom was cured, and everything worked out well." He summed up. When Aaron was older, better able to accept the details, he could read the full report if he wanted to.

"That's good." Aaron smiled.

"And now I think it is time for us to say goodnight, A.J." Koenig recognized his mistake and quickly said, "Sorry, son. I keep forgetting. You like to be called, Aaron. I know."

"Well," A thoughtful expression overcame the boy's face, "I guess _you_ can call me A.J." he said, taking his father's hand, "But only _you_."

Koenig could feel a lump in his throat as Aaron looked up at him with honest blue eyes and a nearly adoring smile. "Thank you … A.J."

Aaron released John's hand and scooted down into bed, pulling the covers over him, apparently unaware of the significance of what had just happened. John watched as Helena leaned over him and gave the boy a gently kiss on the cheek.

"Goodnight, my darling."

"Goodnight, Mom, Goodnight, Dad."

It wasn't until they left the room, the bedroom door slicing shut behind them, that John turned to Helena and allowed the emotion show. She held him, stroking his back gently, delighted with the break-through.

They truly were a family now.

* * *

Days later, an event would occur that, once again, would throw Moonbase Alpha into a monumental quandary. Terror and despair, thought a thing of the past, would crash down on the moon people.

Yet, there would also be challenge, wonder, and hope.

Life for the people of Earth's moon was about to change.

* * *

( **Coming Soon:** The final chapter of **_Thankful_** )


	6. Part 6 and Epilogue

**PART SIX.**

* * *

It had been over a month since the crew of Eagle Three returned to Moonbase Alpha. Friends were becoming reacquainted, workmates reestablishing a form of camaraderie, and lovers - of course - rebuilding their closeness. Or, in Maya and Tony's case, reinventing a friendship which could now only ever be platonic.

John Koenig fell into his role as Verdeschi's second, a sort of trouble shooter or all-around union representative for those who had grown unexcited or short-changed by their on-going responsibilities in their floating world. Some of their complaints were petty and others legitimate. He enjoyed it, the lack of intense paperwork and the all-encompassing obligation, but still having a connection to the personnel around him. Yet, he confessed to Helena one night, while they were in bed, that he also rather missed the necessity and final say.

"Maybe I _do_ have a bigger ego than I let on." he said, appreciating the sensation of his wife's soft body, the feel of her silky pajamas, resting in his arms.

She gazed up at him, seeing the conflict, but knowing him well. "You are adapting, John. If your ego was as big as you think you would have tried to wrestle Tony's command away from him the moment you came back to Alpha. But that is not you."

"I'm not stupid." He admitted. "I would have come off like a tyrant to our people if I took no prisoners."

Helena chuckled, hearing John play devil's advocate. "Well, I'm not going to lie. It's been wonderful having you around with me, bonding with Aaron, and not so stressed as you were when Commander of the base." She felt his cheek nod against her head but also sensed his despondency. Helena recognized John was missing something out of his life that even his family could not replace. She wished she knew what she could do, other than sympathize, to fill that void.

* * *

"Please tell me if I am over-stepping boundaries." Jared Tsu looked over the desk at a wide-eyed Maya, nervous but also confident that he and she had much in common, and possibly a closer alliance than many on Alpha. They were working in the lab, on a mixture - a chemical compound - when he asked the question.

"I don't know …" she said, honestly.

There was going to be a concert during the evening. A band of five Alphan technicians – and Professor Tsu asked Maya if she would like to go with him – _on a date._ They had known each other for a long time, since the moment she originally came to Alpha from her destroyed world of Psychon. She had become the moonbase's head of science once Professor Lew Picard, who had taken the position from the late and much missed Professor Bergman, had died. Maya and Jared Tsu, Picard's capable but untested assistant, worked together. He was a young man back then, a few years younger than Maya even, but now he was older and possibly a bit more confident. Although, at the moment, it did not show on his face.

"I am flattered, Jared." Maya said, lowly. "But I am not yet ready …" She hesitated, shaking her head negatively. "No. Not right now."

Professor Tsu bowed politely, disappointed, then returned to his work.

* * *

There had been much personal regret in Sandra Benes life. She had fallen in love on Earth with a charming young man, Peter, and became engaged. Then, when Alpha was removed from Earth orbit, she had fallen for Mike Ryan, a Lothario pilot who died when they got too close to a black sun.

Then there was Paul Morrow. Early on, they both had vision of marriage and an unbreakable togetherness, but shortly after the incident on Arkadia, where their Commander had put the moonbase in jeopardy to save Dr. Russell, she could see something was not right with Paul, David Kano, and – oddly – Tanya Alexandria. They had all soured on John Koenig's command, Moonbase Alpha, and life in deep space in general. The group, who were once so dedicated and loyal, had transformed into people she and the other Alphans did not know.

Sahn could barely believe her ears when Tanya told her there was great change coming. "Paul will lead us all." She said, in her heavy German accent, and had a nearly manic gleam in her eyes. It was then that Sandra realized that Tanya too loved Paul Morrow. Also, she was willing to give him something Sandra could not: An all-encompassing commitment to the detriment of Moonbase Alpha. Tanya and the rest would abandon Alpha, turn their backs on a dedicated, fair, but human Commander. Sandra could not.

Later, Helena would call their behavior a form of "green sickness" which brought about hidden mental issues and dormant desires. But the mystery of their disappearance, punctuated when Professor Begman passed away do to a spacesuit defect, remained. Sandra remembered Paul getting into a nearly violent altercation with Commander Koenig just before moving Main Mission down to Command Center. It was so unlike him. Alan, often a hot head himself, tried to calm him and understand what was happening but it was to no avail.

Then a week later, in the midst of their move, uniform changes, and a hunt for minerals to keep Alpha sustained, her beloved Paul had organized a mutiny. It was he, with only only a few others, that took a not so random Eagle and headed out into deep space.

Suddenly, they were simply gone.

The crew of six vanished into space, flying away, never to be intercepted. Even then their moonbase experts thought they had their own collision with a space warp, something still relatively new to them, and only a few considered the idea of survival. How could they, out there all alone, with ill provisions, and only their disconcerted enthusiasm and sense of betrayal leading the way, continue to exist?

Once again, Sandra grieved deeply. Paul had tried to bring her into their circle, but she declined. He was not being reasonable, and she told him so – and he left her. Like so many others. But then Psychon happened and there was simply too much to think about to mourn for long. Sandra had learned her lesson and kept herself free from romantic entanglements. That was, until she and Alan had fallen into an embrace years later. Neither expected it and both were tentative … and then he too was gone.

And Tony Verdeschi had been there all along, also having loved and lost. They knew it was right.

"But are you happy?" Alan sat with Sandra in the recreation department, the play area, watching as the children, two of which were hers and Tony's, play and run around like playful monkeys. "Be honest with me, Sahn."

"Of course, I am." She said, nearly offended, "Tony has been a wonderful husband." She pressed. "He's devoted to me and the children."

"I know. I also know that his honor would never let him entertain the idea of straying – even if he did love another woman." Alan watched as her head snapped, her eyes looking up at him with anger. She did not say anything which meant, in his opinion, Sandra had been thinking the same thing. "I just don't want you to get hurt."

"The only one who can hurt me right now is _you_." She spoke lowly, under her breath.

There was no denying that she and Alan had grown close before he disappeared in Eagle Three. Neither of them had any close associations with men or women on Alpha since the days when Paul Morrow and Tanya Alexandria had been potential paramours, but when they left the moonbase, when the security of those first years on the Alpha heralded change, uncertainty and – yes – the devastation of being left behind, she and Alan remained. It was as if the universe was trying to tell them something.

And maybe it was.

For they had been parted, as they were in the past, and now it seemed only friendship was in their future. It was as it probably should be, they thought. Still, that did not prevent him from being protective. If Sandra did not feel threatened by Maya she was a fool - and Alan knew that was one thing the data analyst was not.

"Alan," she took one of his hands in hers, suddenly understanding his concern. "I adore your worry. And no, it has not been easy. But we are trying. Tony and I have talked and he is devoted. We have seven years together as a couple and two blessed children. He is not and will not ever be willing to toss that away. So yes … I am happy. And so is he. Despite it all."

A little less satisfied than he probably should be, Alan allowed a lopsided smile and attempted to look assured.

Perhaps it was not Sandra he should worry about being hurt but himself.

* * *

They were never the same, could not be duplicated, but they were always horrifying. It was violent and without warning. A neck snapping, body twisting, nearly bone crushing force that was as mind-bending as it was unexpected. And, as always, it caught Alpha and everyone in her ill-equipped.

 _It was a space warp._

The first sensation he felt was being lifted off his feet.

John Koenig was walking down the hall in corridor 8B. His schedule had him checking in with the tech crew in charge of the seals on the west end dumps. He had often wondered what might have happened if _all_ the nuclear waste containers exploded during that fateful day in 1999, when the flareup changed their lives. No doubt all on Alpha would have been killed, the moonbase turned to rubble, but what about Earth? Would anyone back home have survived the ordeal? They now knew that Earth had somehow managed to make it through the moon's departure, despite all indications that it should have been destroyed, but had all of the dumps gone up human kind - Earth people in general – would have ceased to be. That was his theory anyway.

In the midst of these thoughts, a familiar sensation overcame John. He did not know what it was at first and later he would wonder if he was the only one who felt it, a sort of electricity in the air, before all hell broke loose. It was the same awareness he felt in Eagle Three just before they disappeared.

Suddenly, he was then slammed into the wall beside him, sliding slowly downward as the world appeared to shatter. He heard something, terrified screams from others probably, but also a high-pitched squeal that reminded Koenig of an ungreased wheel attached to a wheat thrasher. As he collapsed to the polished floor, Koenig saw spots before his eyes and felt time rush by him in waves of the unfamiliar.

Then there was blackness. He awoke either minutes or hours later to a red alert alarm and a frightened female voice calling to all sections of Moonbase Alpha. "Report in!" she exclaimed, 'Our environment is currently stable but many have been hurt or incapacitated …"

Koenig stood slowly, looking down at himself, grateful he was one of the uninjured. But then thought after terrifying thought assuaged him: _Helena! Aaron! The children!_ His comlock was not working so he struggled over to a compost. He punched into Medical Center without results then into the school. No one was answering and, he supposed, with good reason. The moonbase was in chaos. He then called into Command Center and managed to reach Bill Fraiser.

"What's going on?" he barked. Koenig could hear the disorder going on behind him, operatives attempting to get themselves pulled together, pushing buttons, and – first of all – getting the base up and in running order.

"It was a warp." Fraiser confirmed, "We are still waiting to hear from all sections of Alpha but so far we are okay. The environment is holding steady."

"Where is Tony?" he asked.

"Medical Center. The Commander was hit pretty hard."

"Medical is operational?"

"Yeah, Helena has it under control."

Koenig felt alleviation. At least Helena was safe. "What about the children?"

"We haven't heard from Pamela or the other teachers yet but we know there is a door jam in that area."

"Power?"

"Minimal for now. Bet there are a lot of frightened kids down there."

"What about the travel tubes?" He waited to hear what someone beside Fraiser was telling him, "They are not yet moving down as far as the lower levels. But there is a way in through cavern C18 and corridor E."

"I'll check on it. Let me know when Tony is conscious and able to give orders."

"Okay but …"

Koenig snapped off and made his way to the catacombs before Fraiser could finish. Again, John knew he was probably being self-centered but his son was down there and he had to know he and the others were unhurt and would remain that way.

When he got there, Dave Reilly and a couple other men - including Steiner - were already in front of the school room doors, attempting to pry them open. "We don't dare fire a laser at the control panel." Reilly said, "We don't know what type of toxic fumes are in here. Warps have a way of stirring things up we'd rather keep underground."

Koenig knew how Reilly felt about Aaron and suspected he was there for the same reason the boy's father felt the need to be hands on. He tried to call inside, using his own comlock but, as with the upper levels, communication was still off-line. "Why are you having such a hard time forcing the doors open?" John asked the men with frustration.

"It's not level." Steiner replied, working on the problem. "It's like pulling on two heavy blocks of cement."

Koenig put his ear to the door and thought he could hear the crying of frightened children. Spurred on, he helped the men pull at the doors, throwing his weight into them. Then slowly, almost agonizingly, they came apart. When a crevice appeared, about an inch thick, he called out: "Is everyone okay in there?"

Pamela called: "Yes! Jimmy hurt his hand but we were lucky. Being underground like this we felt very little other than a jolt. Is everyone else satisfactory?"

Koenig felt relief, glanced at the equally thankful Reilly, having pictured small broken bodies and gore once inside. He felt even better when hearing Aaron's muffled: "Dad!" then, "Uncle Dave!?"

Abruptly, power was restored, the light in the hall blinking on with a crackle and the doors parted easily.

The children made a beeline for the outside of the classroom and he told Pamela to take them to the underground park and play area.

"We will have your parents come down and get you later!" Koenig told the children. He watched as Reilly's daughter ran to him and the Irishman picked her up lovingly. Of course, John thought, he was down here for her. Aaron was important to him but it was his own child he thought of first. That was only natural. Then, when Koenig saw Aaron he opened his arms and reveled in the feel of the boy gratefully jumping into his embrace. Crouching, he pulled back and looked at his son's nervous and somewhat dusty face. "You're good?" John asked him.

"Yeah. Is Mom safe?" he asked.

"She's in Medical Center helping the wounded. I'm going there now."

"Can I …?" the boy started.

"I need you to be brave, A.J." Koenig took his shoulders firmly in his hands, "There are a lot of scarred children and adults that will be going down to the play area for sanctuary until we can get Alpha completely on-line. I want you to help Miss Pamela keep everyone in line. Your Mom and I will come and get you later but I need a soldier down there, not a little boy. Can you be that?"

The boy looked at him for a moment, unsure, then his expression grew firm and certain. "Yes, I can do that, Dad. I won't disappoint you."

Koenig nearly smiled, proud. "You never could, kiddo." He patted him gently on the back and sent him on his way. He watched as he took LeAnn Reilly's hand and escorted her down the hall.

Reilly stood with Koenig for a moment, staring after their children. Then, feeling a little uncomfortable, Dave said: "There may be structural problems. I better be on my way."

"Dave." Koenig stopped him before he departed, "Thank you – for everything."

Reilly hesitated, thinking and knowing Koenig was showing gratitude for more than getting the children out of the classroom or even his knowledge of underground construction. "Sure." He said, remembering a time from the past, a great few months, a regret, and moved on.

"John!" A call came to his now working comlock. It was Helena and he knew what she needed to know, "It's okay, Helena. Aaron and the children are well and going down to the lower bunkers." He paused briefly and asked, "How are you?"

"Good." She said, appearing worried. "But I need you in Medical Center. It's Tony. He just came out of surgery – and it's not good."

 _Surgery._ Koenig had no idea his injury was bad enough to warrant surgery. Perhaps that was what Fraiser was trying to tell him.

* * *

When he arrived, Sandra was sitting by Tony's bedside, holding one of his hands. She had just been told that their children were well but her worries were not yet over. Maya stood at the foot on his bed, her countenance unrevealing, and Alan stood behind her. Helena was on the other side of the bed, looking professional, but when she saw him her face nearly crumbled into uncertainty. John rounded the bed to meet her, placing an arm around Helena's shoulders as he looked down at his friend and Commander.

"The band is all here." Verdeschi croaked, attempting humor. He had a monitor over his chest and the screen above his head read low life signs. Tony had been cleaned-up but his complexion was nearly gray and his eyes were already half closed.

Helena would later tell him that Tony's abdomen had been pierced by a beam that fell where he was walking near Area 3C. Brambly had also been injured but would survive. Others were not so lucky. Their travel through the warp killed three Alphans.

And soon a forth would join them.

"Take care of Alpha, John." Tony whispered.

"Of course." Koenig spoke through a gulp, "We all will."

Tony, knowing there was little time left, spoke to his wife: "I thank God every day for you, Sahn, and what you brought into my life."

Sandra wept, holding her husband's hand, her head lowered, eyes closed.

She did not see Tony looking up, his vision taking in Maya. Before he departed, he said: "I _do_ love you." And his eyes closed.

Alan, John, and Helena glanced from him to Maya, watching as she inhale, a hand moving to her mouth, and the tears fell from her eyes. Yes, he had always loved Maya.

Alan moved to take Sandra in his arms, ushering her away as the doctors moved in to try to bring Tony back to them. Koenig put his arms around Maya, in empathy, as Helena and her team worked. It was to no avail. Verdeschi was gone, now at peace, leaving the people he had loved and who loved him to grieve.

* * *

It was one week since the warp passed.

Once again, he was Commander of Moonbase Alpha. It was a position he did not relish, under the circumstances, but it was well earned and – as many would say – it was right. Verdeschi had been honored and respected, his widow and children would never forget him, and a plaque was left in the deep vaults of the moonbase, where the bodies of Alpha's fallen rested, to one day be buried on the planet that would become their home.

"Where are we?" Helena asked John as she stood behind his chair in Command Center. "I can't recall the last time I saw so many stars."

It was true. Wherever the warp had thrust them was now rife with a multitude of warm potential homes.

Maya, sitting at the science position in Command Center, now vacated by Professor Tsu who preferred lab work, said: "Our star charts indicate this is the galaxy of Iftimia. It has a class B sun but the prospects …" She turned in her chair and smiled for the first time since Verdeschi's demise. " … are there."

This was not supposed to happen. They were all going to live on Moonbase Alpha for the rest of their lives and only their chidren's children or beyond would see the potential of a new world. But, thanks to the space warp, they had been propelled three hundred and sixty-four light years from their previous position. It was unprecedented. Never before had they been tossed so hard and far. And, despite the death and injury – it was welcomed.

John felt Helena's hand on his shoulder and looked up at her, seeing the lovely wonder in her expression as she looked at the Big Screen. He knew what she was thinking. Aaron might still grow up on a new Earth. It could happen and perhaps before the magical light of childhood had yet to leave him.

He reached up and took her hand in his.

John then looked over at Sandra, the sadness in her expression. She had insisted she needed to come back to work after a few days of grieving and he was glad she made that decision. Alan was there sitting at the pilot's console, and she looked over at him with a small smile. Yes, it would be good for the children – and perhaps for them as well.

* * *

 _ **EPILOGUE.**_

It would take them three tries in this galaxy to find the right world, green and lush, with the proper atmosphere and potential for colonization. But when they did find it, they called her Idealia and she became home. They worked her hard and well, developing communities, happy with the physical work it took to build and advance their domain.

They mingled with other alien races, recommended by Bill and Annette Fraiser, that came to help and counsel.

And they were happy.

Sandra had more children – with Alan Carter.

Maya and Jared Tsu fell in love and started a family of their own.

John and Helena grew old together, watched their grandchildren grow into men and women, and could not have asked for a better life together.

Later generations on Idealia would remember those Alphans, the people from the moon, and would tell long tales about their adventures, how missing crew members would return, how love and loyalty played such a large role in their lives and decisions, the manner in which they remained a peaceful and hard-working people.

And they would also talk about a hero; a great man, tall, lean and strong, a courageous man with his mother's insight and his father's leadership ability. Aaron James Koenig would go down in the history of the planet Idealia as the greatest leader, official, and warrior the planet had ever known. His progenies would become revered doctors and representatives. And later, when Idealia had a space program, those descendance would spearhead its implementation and growth.

Idealia was what it professed to be: An ideal world.

The men and women of Moonbase Alpha? They would never be forgotten.

* * *

 **THE END**

Nov. – Dec 2018.

* * *

 _Thank you all for reading and enjoying ( please … haha) this fiction. I hope you had a wonderful holiday and will approach 2019 with a spirit of happiness and rebirth. I sincerely thank you for all of the kind comments regarding **Thankful** and, now that the story is done, hope you will continue to tell me what you thought of it. Nothing is more encouraging to a fan writer than to hear where they struck gold or where they need to improve. God bless and here is to the next one! Becky._


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